


Where the Shadows Lie

by chibi_nightowl, GoAwayOlivia



Series: Moon, Snow, and Ice [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bruce tries to be a good dad, Dark Fae!Tim, Dysfunctional Family Bonding, Eventual Romance, Fae & Fairies, Humor, It's always Jason, Language, M/M, Rescue Missions, Reunions, Shadowlings, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-09-20 14:40:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17024559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibi_nightowl/pseuds/chibi_nightowl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoAwayOlivia/pseuds/GoAwayOlivia
Summary: “He’s a fae,” Jason snaps. “And he had to return to the Faelands because our world was slowly killing him.”Stephanie stares. “A fae.”“Yep.”She keeps staring. “You had a relationship with a fae.”“That’s what I said.”“Yougot it onwith afae.”“Fucking—yes,Blondie, he’sa fucking fae, how many times do you want me to say it?”





	1. A Pain in His Ass

**Author's Note:**

  * For [utazawa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/utazawa/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday, my dear! I'm pretty sure this isn't quite what you thought when you gave me this prompt, but when I discussed the idea with GoAwayOlivia, she not only talked me through it, but wrote some of it too! ~chibinightowl

She sits in darkness, the Queen of Night, cool and outwardly serene while her shadowy subjects dance before her, luminescent under the starlight. The grand ball is meant to entertain, to bring a spark of enjoyment back into her life. It has been a long time since she has felt anything akin to happiness. When her Lord of Ice and Snow left, he took her heart with him. 

The fool. 

Does he not understand who she is? The power that is hers to command? Distantly, she can acknowledge that they are equals, that what she feels is hubris. But it does not stop her from embracing the bitterness of his betrayal. One does not simply leave the Court of Moonlight and Shadow, rejecting laws and customs of millennia. 

He did, choosing instead to walk the Borderlands and the edges of Fae rather than remain by her side. Her lord, distant and icy and pale as the moon. Her lord, oh how she loves him still. 

“Your Majesty,” a sibilant voice hisses from the shadows behind her throne. “We have news.” 

She idly gestures for the shadowling to speak. 

“He has returned to the Tower of Winter.” 

Eyes widening, the Queen of Night whirls around to come face to face with her grotesque underling. “When?” 

“On the night of the waxing crescent moon. It took three nights for the news to make its way here. He is concealing his presence.” 

Three nights. Her beloved Lord has been home for three nights and has yet to make an appearance in these halls. His ultimatum must still be in effect, that he has no desire to rejoin the Dark court, preferring instead to wander in solitude. 

“What is his condition?”

“The shadows say he reeks of blood and iron, that the scent of a mortal permeates his skin. They believe he has taken a human lover.” 

 _No._ No, her beloved would never lower himself to bear the touch of one of those filthy humans. Unwashed, unrefined, unable to hold an intelligent conversation of the sort she knows her Lord of Ice prefers. A plan starts to form, one that will not fail in bringing her love back to her side. “Do they have this mortal’s scent?” she asks. 

The shadowing bobs its bulbous head. “We do, my queen.” 

“Find them,” she snaps, rising from her throne. Her gown of stars and moonlight shimmers as it grows darker, enveloping her form in the blackest of night. “Bring this mortal to me. Let us see how much my Lord will sacrifice when he learns his lover has been taken into the care of the shadowlings.” 

Sharp teeth flash in the under the faint light of the starlit room, each one a razor sharp point. “With pleasure, Your Majesty.” 

~*~*~ 

“Ow, fuck.” Jason stops and glares at the offending tree root he just tripped over. In the dark, Robinson Park is nothing but one ginormous hazard to people with weak ankles. Not that he has them, but he doesn’t need to re-sprain his ankle and his ribs are still a bit tender from the pummeling they’d received a couple weeks back before he returned to Earth. 

“Having trouble?” Stephanie asks smugly from behind. 

Jason holds off on retorting and waits the two seconds for her to hit the root. Sure enough, a moment later, he hears a solid _thunk_ and a stream of curses pour from Stephanie’s mouth. 

“Having trouble?” he mocks.

“You’re a jerk, you know that?” she bites back. 

“Yep,” Jason retorts and keeps going. He hates the park at night. Always has, but tonight, he feels particularly on edge and he’s not sure why. Things that go bump in the night don’t particularly bother him since there are maybe one or two other people in this shithole of a city that are higher up on the food chain than him. 

Tonight though… he can’t shake the feeling that he’s being watched.

However, it is entirely possible that it’s Poison Ivy since she’s the reason why he and Stephanie are here in the first place. 

“And to think I thought I missed you,” Blondie replies, distracting him from the prickling feeling crawling down his spine. “Where have you even been anyway? You’ve been gone for months.” 

“What’s it to you?” Jason retorts defensively. His relationship with Stephanie is a little less combative than his relationships with Bruce and Dick, but no less complicated. Coming back from the grave only to find her in his uniform… well, there will probably always be some resentment there, even if it has lessened over the years. A bit. He is willing to concede that being on the receiving end of her right hook helped. 

“What? I’m not allowed to be curious? We had to cover your territory while you were gone, you know. Just wondering where you went and why you left in the first place. It actually felt like we were all getting along for a minute there and then _poof._ Off you went,” she adds, a trace of bitterness in her tone. 

Jason rolls his eyes, unsympathetic. He might have resented Stephanie for taking his place while he was dead, but she’d resented him plenty for the chaos he’d brought to the family on his return. Their relationship had gotten better once Damian was in the picture and Steph was pushed aside as easily as he’d been. Now that she was Red Robin, they almost got along. Most of the time. 

“I was in space with the Outlaws. Felt the need for a distraction,” he mutters the last bit, gut twinging as he thinks of Tim and the time they spent together. He misses him. It’s easier to deal with when he’s off planet and away from everything that reminds him of the fae. Even after a couple of months, he’d been reluctant to return to Earth, but Roy had insisted they spend some time planet side before swanning off again. And, well, he _had_ been neglecting his own duties in Gotham. 

“A distraction from what?” Stephanie asks, the curious tone setting him immediately on edge. 

“Nothing, Blondie.” 

“Oh no. You brought it up, Hood for brains. Spill.” 

Jason is fully prepared to shut her down, but abruptly hesitates. Maybe it won’t hurt anything to tell her. When he talks about it, it feels more real— less like a fantasy his brain cooked up. 

“I was kind of seeing someone,” he admits after a moment. 

 _“Really_?” Steph sounds so shocked that Jason can’t help but feel offended. He stops and rounds on her. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I just always thought you, Arsenal, and Starfire were…” she trails off lamely. 

“Not the way you think.” He’d fallen into bed with them a few times, but that was all it ever was. After a massive battle, fulfilling a physical need and glorying in the fact they’d made it out mostly intact – well, there’s nothing wrong with that. 

“Oh. So bad break up?” Stephanie prompts after a moment of awkward silence. 

Jason’s shoulders tense up and he turns and continues their trek through the park. “Not exactly.” 

Tim can’t stay here, not for very long. More than just the presence of iron, it’s the sunlight that will kill him. The very thought of watching the intense blue light from his eyes fade is enough to make Jason’s heart stutter. No. Not happening. 

“Ugh, you’re worse than B. Come on, just spit it out already.” 

“Fine! He had to go home.” 

“So you leave the planet? They’re called cell phones, Hood.” 

“They don’t work where he comes from.” 

Stephanie stops in her tracks and Jason sighs, but stops as well. This is why he doesn’t open up. Blondie is better than Dickie though, by a long shot. 

“Alien?” she guesses.

“Not exactly.”

She shoots him a frustrated look. “Okay, you’re gonna have to help me out here, Hood, because given our line of work, I could be guessing all night here.” 

“He’s a fae,” Jason snaps, but it feels a little liberating to say out loud finally to someone who’s not Roy. “He’s a fae and he had to return to the Faelands because our world was slowly killing him.” 

Stephanie stares. “A fae.” 

“Yep.” 

She keeps staring. “You had a relationship with a fae.” 

“That’s what I said.”

“You _got it on_ with a fae.” 

“Fucking— _yes_ , Blondie, he’s a _fucking fae_ , how many times do you want me to say it?”

“Sorry, I’m just trying to process this.” Abruptly she lets out a snort of laughter that has Jason stiffening defensively. “Oh my God, I’ve heard horror stories of Batman’s alien STD lecture from Nightwing. I can’t even imagine what this is going to be like. B will _flip out_.”

“He’s not going to find out,” Jason snaps, recoiling in horror at just the _thought_. Why has he never heard of this before? Wait, that implies he’s around enough for Bruce to pretend to act like a parent for a change. Hell no. 

“Oh, you sweet summer child,” Stephanie replies, full of condescension. 

Jason stares, more offended than he can remember being in his entire life. “ _Excuse me?”_  

Stephanie continues as if he hasn’t said anything. “It’s Batman. He _always_ finds out. You think he wasn’t moping around while you were gone? Trying to figure out what made you leave for weeks? Because he totally was. It’s just a matter of when, my friend, but he’s definitely going to find out. Wait a second… aren’t fae supposed to be dangerous or something?” 

He grimaces under his hood and turns back toward their trail. Where the fuck is Ivy when you need her? Someone needs to interrupt this conversation right the fuck now. “ _I’m_ dangerous,” he retorts. 

“Uh huh,” she replies, unimpressed. “I’m serious here, Mom read me some fairytales as a kid and I’m pretty sure there were lots of instances of _don’t play with the fairies_. Like even the good ones would totally fuck you over. You didn’t get fucked over did you?” 

“I got fucked over plenty, Blondie,” he states snidely. “Over the counter, on the couch—” 

“ _Oh ew!!_ ” Stephanie interrupts dramatically. “I don’t want to picture that! Ivy, where the fuck are you? Come save me from the grossest conversation I’ve ever had in my life!” 

Jason snickers. It’s moments like these where he’s willing to concede having a sister can be pretty fun. 

“Seriously though, where is she?” Stephanie asks, looking around. “I thought we would have been greeted by some evil vines by now.” 

“Yeah,” Jason agrees, frowning out into the darkness of the woods. Robinson Park may as well be its own little world, cutoff from the rest of Gotham. This far in, they can’t even hear any of the normal noise from the city, save for an occasional siren in the distance. “I’m thinking we’re on a wild goose chase. If we made it this far without hitting any sign of her… she’s probably not here.” But that doesn’t track with the sinister watched feeling that’s been stuck on him since they left the safety of the street lights. “Something is though,” he says soberly. He’s sure of it. He’s just not so sure it’s Ivy. 

“Yeah, I feel it too,” Stephanie says, agreeing with him, and he finally notices the tension in her shoulder blades. He wonders how long it’s been there. “Maybe Ivy was just letting us finish our girl talk?” she asks hopefully. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Jason thinks he sees a shadow move quickly. Or would that be something in the shadow? Doesn’t matter, it doesn’t belong there. He pulls a gun from his holster. “I wouldn’t count on it, Blondie.” 

“Pity.” Stephanie firms up her grip on her staff and stares hard into the darkness and the trees surrounding them. “The devil you know and all that.” 

He thinks he sees another shadow move, this time to his right. “What the fuck?” he whispers, because this time he would swear there was as a flash of luminescent eyes. A cat, maybe? 

“There!” Stephanie says, swinging her staff around to point off to the left. Jason spots another flash of eyes, and then nothing. He has a sneaking suspicion that whatever’s out there, it isn’t a cat. Or friendly. 

Wordlessly, they turn so they’re back to back, ready and waiting for the attack they know is about to come. 

“Whatever it is, it’s fast,” she breathes. 

“Not it,” Jason corrects, staring as a pair of luminescent eyes appear, followed quickly by another, and then another and another. “ _Them_.” 

“Holy forking shirtballs,” Steph breathes behind him. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” 

She makes a frustrated sound. “You and me got a date with Netflix, buster. I thought Arsenal was working on your pop culture education?” 

Just what he doesn’t have time for. Another reminder that he doesn’t watch enough TV. “We’ve been in _space_ , remember?” Before he lets himself get sidetracked more, he barks out a different question. “How many you got?” 

Because there’s well over a dozen on his side. Maybe two. He can’t count that fast. 

“Too freaking many,” Steph replies immediately. “ _What are they_?” She shuffles a little, and then there’s a crack and the eerie yellow-green glow of a glowstick. 

Under the lurid light, the shadows begin to take shape. Jason stares, horrified. They look like little goblins, dark and shadowed with glowing green eyes and long tentacle like arms equipped with razor sharp claws. To top it off, their mouths are filled with dozens of needle-sharp teeth. One blinks and launches toward him. 

“Holy shit!” Jason shouts at the same time Steph yelps in surprise. 

The rest of the little demon monsters leap into the fray and Jason starts firing immediately, trying his best to keep the monsters from overwhelming them. Behind him, Stephanie is shouting and fighting them off. They leap with claws bared, trying to scratch and bite, all the while hissing and slobbering loudly. He shoots and shoots but there’s too many. More keep coming, fast and furious and leaving him no time to reload once both guns are empty. One gets close enough to slice at his thigh, cutting through the armored fabric almost like nothing. It stings like hell and he hopes to fuck those claws aren’t poisonous. He kicks it viciously in the teeth and another one bites at his calf. 

There’s too many. They need to get out of here. 

“Run!” he shouts, turning and yanking Stephanie into a sprint. He’s able to reload one gun, ejecting the clip and slapping in a fresh one. He pushes her ahead and fires behind them, doing his best to cover their escape. 

Another sharp sting slices through the back of his leg, high up on his thigh. “Motherfucker!” he swears and fires more. 

“What are they?!” Stephanie shouts ahead of him, lighting the way and doing her best not to run into a tree. Roots are their worst enemy right now, so if Ivy really is here tonight, she’s got a good opportunity to kill them if she chose to take advantage of it. 

“How the fuck would I know?!” Jason shouts back. “Move it, Blondie!” 

It’s a relief when the trees start to thin. Here at least, the light from the city better penetrates into the park and there’s more space, making it much easier to fight the little goblins if they can move and actually see them. He stops and turns, ready to shoot some little goblin heads, but there’s nothing but trees and bushes. 

“Where’d they go?” Steph pants beside him, staff held tight in her hands. 

“I don’t know,” Jason replies, guns trained at the darkness. He doesn’t see any flash of eyes, but he isn’t quite ready to turn his back on the tree line. He spares a quick glance at Steph. She’s looking about as rough as he feels, with a gash bleeding on her leg and another on her side. Both probably need stitches. The dampness on the back of his thigh tells him he needs them as well. 

“Whatever they are, it doesn’t look like they’re interested in taking slices out of our hides anymore.” He backs away slowly. The feeling that they’re still being watched resonates through him, that whatever this is, it’s only a lull. Demon goblins aren’t on his resumé, but he knows a few people with the right connections to figure this out. “Can you ride?” he asks, referring to her motorcycle. 

Stephanie scoffs. “Please. I’ve had worse than this.” 

“Good, then let’s get the fuck out of here. Tell the others we’re on our way.” 

“Bossy.” 

Jason ignores her in favor of straddling his motorcycle while she calls it in. The cut on the back of his leg stings like a bitch. The little fuckers managed to get the same one, slicing his skin open even wider. “Ow, shit,” he hisses trying to adjust his seat on the bike. It doesn’t help. 

“What’s wrong?” Steph asks, frowning. 

“One of those little monsters got the back of my leg,” he grumbles. This is great. Just great. 

“Can _you_ ride?” she challenges.

“Shut up.” He starts the engine and follows after Steph, tear-assing their way down the streets and side roads back to the cave. His leg hurts like a bitch the entire time. By the time they finally arrive, he’s more than ready to pop a few pills. He groans as he gets off his bike, leg stiff and tacky from his blood. It’s entirely probable he’ll have to stay the rest of the night here. 

Fuck his life. 

A startled snort of laughter temporarily distracts him from the pain, and Jason turns to see Stephanie doubled over in laughter. “What’s your deal?” he demands hotly. 

“They got you in the ass,” she snickers, pointing at him. 

“It’s my leg,” he growls, annoyed. 

“No, it isn’t.” More snickers.

For a moment, Jason seriously contemplates shooting her. 

“Report,” Bruce demands from deeper into the cave. Jason spots him moving their way, suit on but cowl off. Great. His night can’t get any better. Really. 

“Jason’s ass needs medical attention,” Stephanie says with a cheerful grin.

“Blondie’s about to need a coroner,” he bites back. 

“Sutures seem to be in order for you both,” Alfred interrupts, defusing Jason’s rising temper with a simple arched eyebrow. He looks over their torn and blood smeared uniforms with a frown. “If you wouldn’t mind.” 

It takes very little time for Alfred to wrangle them into the med-bay where Bruce looms over them as they describe the little demon monsters. Jason lets Steph do most of the talking and tries his best to weather the irritation as Dick makes comments about his ass. He’s lying chest down on one of the medical gurneys, pants cut open, while Alfred stitches the back of his leg together. The worst wound the little goblins had managed is right in the crease where glute meets leg, and it’s possibly the most annoyingly placed field injury he’s ever received. 

“Cass went by the park, said there’s no trace of little shadow gremlins running around. Whatever they were, it looks like they left after you did,” Dick finally says, once he’s gotten his fill of teasing. 

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” Stephanie muses, prodding the neatly bandaged wound in her side. 

Jason doesn’t either. One thing he does know is that he isn’t eager to run into those little monsters again.

Alfred’s fingers abruptly twitch at his thigh, and Jason hisses as the stitches pull. “Ouch!” 

“My apologies, Master Jason,” Alfred responds distantly. “It’s just… I thought I saw something on your leg.” 

Jason pales, remembering the small silver dragon that had made a home on his body after Tim’s departure. Once he became aware of its existence, he discovered it spent most of its time sleeping on his shoulder. Occasionally it woke up to investigate his surroundings, usually when he stood by a window, gazing out into the depths of space. It was during times like these that he felt closest to Tim, even with all the lightyears and dimensions between them. 

Apparently, Alfred prodding around must have been enough to rouse the little dragon. Jason hopes with all his might the little guy remains hidden. The last thing he needs right now is Bruce finding out about Tim. 

“What the hell is that?” Stephanie squeaks suddenly, and Jason groans loudly, dropping his head on his forearms. His entirely family seems to feel like staring at his ass tonight. “Did you get a tattoo? Did you get a tattoo that moves?! Oh my god, did you get a magical tatto— _Ohhh…”_ she trails off, zipping her mouth a fraction too late. 

Jason curses profusely. 

“ _Explain_ ,” Bruce demands immediately. 

Alfred ties off and bandages the stitches, and Jason immediately pushes himself up and away from the bed and his family. Stephanie is standing wide eyed with a hand over her mouth, Bruce is looking at him angrily, and Dick is holding out a pair of sweatpants with a knowing look. “Are you going to tell him, or should I?” he asks, and Jason stiffens even further. 

“How the fuck do you know?” Jason snaps. 

“Roy was worried,” Dick answers, and suddenly Roy’s insistence that they return to Earth for a few weeks makes so much more sense. The fact that his best friend is also close friends with his older brother is a constant annoyance. Anytime Dick wants to snoop on him, all he has to do is ask Roy. 

“Fucking traitor.” 

“You can’t blame him for being a little concerned, Jay.” 

“Someone explain. _Now_ ,” Bruce barks. 

Stephanie ignores him and focuses on Jason. “Is a magical tattoo the magic fairy boyfriend equivalent of a class ring? Because if so, you guys are going steady.” 

“How the hell would I know, Steph? I just woke up and it was there. Actually, I didn’t even notice it for two solid months.” 

Bruce’s head looks like it’s about to explode and it’s clear that there will be no more hiding things from the man. 

Jason snatches the pair of sweatpants from Dick’s grip and quickly exchanges his torn and bloody pants for them. “I had a relationship with a fae,” he admits after a moment. “He returned to the fae lands and apparently left me a magical dragon tattoo.” 

For a long moment, Bruce just stares and Jason wonders if his brain has shorted out. This would be a blessing but he’s not that lucky. 

“What?” Bruce speaks, tonelessly. 

“A fae,” Jason repeats impatiently. Why the fuck could no one grasp this? “I accidentally got lost in the Borderlands, I ran into Tim, and after we made a deal, he got me back to Gotham.” 

“You—” Bruce cuts off with a vaguely choked sound. “You. Made a deal. With a _fae_.”

“He fucked him too, which I’m pretty sure is worse,” Steph pipes in helpfully. 

There’s another vague choking noise from Bruce. 

“Oh my God, I think you broke him,” Stephanie whispers loudly. 

“You’re not helping, Blondie,” Jason hisses.

“Might I suggest we move this to the conference table?” Alfred says, guiding Bruce along. 

“Great idea,” Dick agrees, snagging hold of Jason’s shoulder so he can’t escape. “I believe this is the kind of conversation had over tea.” 

“Quite right,” Alfred agrees as the rest of them sit. “Allow me to fetch some.” He walks off, leaving Jason to his fate. 

“Start from the beginning,” Bruce demands, brain apparently restarted. “I want to know everything that happened.” 

“Trust me, you really don’t,” Jason replies, thinking about the number of times he and Tim had fucked. Good times. He still can’t quite look at his motorcycle the same way. 

Bruce grimaces and redirects. “The terms of your deal. Every word exactly as it was spoken.” 

Jason rolls his eyes. “The deal is already completed, Bruce. Everything is fine.” 

“You have a foreign presence with unknown intentions attached to your body,” Bruce barks back furiously. “I would hardly describe that as _fine_.” 

Abruptly, the far lights in the cave cut off. Jason’s head snaps to the side in surprise as he peers into the darkness. 

“Must be a blown fuse,” Dick murmurs, but there’s a prickling feeling on the back of his neck again. 

He turns his attention back to Bruce, who still looks furious. “Trust me, the intentions are entirely benevolent. Tim doesn’t want to hurt me. He may be an Unseelie, but he’s not the usual.” 

Bruce stiffens once more and Jason groans as he realizes what he’d said. Any hopes of the big bad Bat deciding to be reasonable fly out the window. 

“Let me see if I understand you correctly,” he speaks, voice cold and level. “You met a dark fae. You _made a deal_ with said dark fae. And then you _slept with the_ _dark fae._ ” 

Jason pinches the bridge of his nose. “Okay, technically yes, but—” 

“ _What the hell were you thinking?_ ” Bruce shouts, standing from the table. 

“That it’s none of your fucking business!” Jason shouts back, seething. Another set of lights cut out, but this time, he hardly notices. 

“Jason, you could be in serious danger,” Bruce snaps. “You could be bewitched, even. There’s no telling what that tattoo is doing to you. It could be controlling you!” 

Jason rolls his eyes. “It’s not.” 

Bruce apparently decides he’s done trying to have a conversation with him, because he turns to Dick and barks. “I want to have a conversation with Zatanna and possibly J’onn as well.” 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Jason snarls. 

“You do that, I’ll check on the lights,” Dick replies before giving Jason a sympathetic look. “Don’t take it personally. You know how he feels about outsiders. He’d be doing this with any of us.” 

“What-the-fuck-ever,” Jason growls, and then notices just how dark it’s gotten in the cave. The lights by the conference table and computer are still on, but almost all the rest are out. The prickling on the back of his neck is stronger now, and Jason feels the sudden urge to get the fuck out of there. He shoves away from the table as Alfred appears at the top of the stairs with a tray in hand. “Alfie, I’ll take that tea upstairs if you don’t mind.” 

“Of course, Master Jason,” he replies, holding the door. “Shall we?”

“You know, there’s at least one good thing that will come from this,” Jason hears Steph say as he heads up the stairs. “Jason’s set the bar so low that I can pretty much sleep with anyone and Bruce can’t say anything about it.” 

Dick’s voice follows after him. “Don’t think for a minute he won’t try.” 

~*~*~

His family sucks, that’s all there is to it. This is precisely why he stays away and ignores most of their calls or messages. 

Except Alfred because even he’s not that stupid.  

“What do you think about all this?” Jason asks quietly, hands wrapped around his teacup in the quiet solitude of the kitchen. He’s leaning against the kitchen island since sitting is out of the question, at least for now. He feels slightly ludicrous in his sweatpants and Red Hood gear, but the old butler hasn’t made him take it off yet.  

“I’m not entirely certain, Master Jason,” Alfred replies, his own teacup sitting neatly on the saucer. Always a proper tea in this household, none of the shortcuts he takes at home. “An Unseelie Fae is something quite outside the realm of my own experience.”  

“Tim isn’t - he isn’t  _evil_  in the way you’re thinking. Light and dark are just two sides of the same coin. One isn’t necessarily worse than the other.” The words felt strangely right as they fell off his tongue. “Look at what we do. We all live in shadow. Does that make us evil?”  

A small sniff comes from behind Jason. Turning, he spots the missing member of his family, the one guaranteed to make his night complete. With him are his monster of a dog and black and white cat. “That is a surprisingly eloquent argument coming from you, Todd,” Damian comments with a faint hint of his usual snideness.  

“Don’t you have a bedtime?” Jason snaps, not appreciating the interruption. “Someone has school in the morning.” 

“How can I sleep when Titus and Alfred keep pacing about my room? Something is upsetting them tonight.”  

Titus leaves Damian’s side to start wandering through the kitchen, pausing to sniff and growl low at the pantry door before moving on. It’s clear the Great Dane is agitated, but at what?  

“Why don’t you join us for some tea, Master Damian?” 

There goes his chance for a talk with someone reasonable. Jason ignores the brat in favor of the calming herbal tea Alfred chose. He always knows how to make it just right. 

“Going back to your question, Master Jason,” Alfred states once Damian is settled with a cup and a cookie. “You are quite correct in that there are many shades of gray in this world. Master Bruce prefers his black and white, but even he cannot escape this fact, however much he’d like to.” 

“And with other worlds?” 

For once, Alfred appears troubled. “The fae are not creatures that have the best of reputations, light or dark, especially toward humans. What our own myths and stories say however, I am willing to accept with a grain of salt because they’re told by those impacted by these encounters. The wilder the story, the more likely it is to be told over time, making it the tale that survives the centuries.” 

Damian levels his gaze onto Jason. “So that’s what this is all about. I tapped into my audio feed before coming down here to hear Father roaring at Richard about your poor life choices and Stephanie laughing at them both.” 

Jason sighs and stares into his tea. “Just wait, one day, you’ll be on the receiving end of his bullshit too.” 

Alfred rests a hand over Jason’s. “He does it because he loves you. Despite what you may believe, you are his son.” 

“He only acts like it when he doesn’t understand something or the decisions I make,” Jason tries to explain. “I’m a grown ass man, I can fuck up on my own and learn from it without him telling me I’m a moron.” He takes a sip of his tea and wonders if he can get another cookie. “All that aside, I don’t know what Tim and I are, or when he’s coming back.” 

Not if. _When._  

“Explain.” 

Jason explains the terms of the second deal he made with Tim, the one he didn’t tell Bruce about. 

“A night on the town?” Damian smirks, shaking his head. “You beat a fae warrior just so you could have another date with him?” 

Well, when you put it that way… “Shut up.” Jason wishes he could sink into the floor and disappear. “I swear, I wasn’t just thinking with my dick. Tim is… different. Interesting. Once he got over the whole quid pro quo thing, he opened up. Relaxed. Like he was letting something out that was buried deep.” 

His mouth snaps shut at what he’d said, but thankfully, no Dick or Steph appear to make a smartass comment. 

“This was all before he marked you?” Alfred asks quietly. 

“Yeah.” Jason takes another sip from his tea. “I think he did it right before he left.” 

As if hearing him talk about it, the little dragon peeks out from the under the edge of his sleeve. 

Damian gasps and leans in for a better look. “This is the fae mark?” 

The dragon flows down Jason’s forearm to settle on the back of his hand. His heart aches as it always does each time he sees it. “Yeah.” 

“Do you feel it moving at all?” 

Jason shakes his head. “Not really. If I concentrate, I can tell where it is. It’s usually on my shoulder. That’s where Tim’s dragon hung out most of the time.” 

“You mean to say that your fae has a similar mark?” Alfred asks. 

This time, Jason nods. “A much bigger one. I’d say a good four or five times the size of this guy.” 

“I wonder if he’s gifted you with a piece of himself,” Alfred says musingly. “That this mark is how he’ll find you again when he returns to fulfill your second bargain.” 

Damian sniffs and finishes his cookie. “You are enough of a sap that it would not surprise me in the slightest if after that encounter, you still have the mark from having struck a third bargain.” 

It wouldn’t surprise him either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday! I was so excited to be able to be a part of this! Hope you don't mind :D I hope you're birthday is absolutely wonderful and that you enjoy your story and the unexpected turn it's taken!
> 
> -GoAwayOliva


	2. Things That Go Bump In the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for all the comments and the insane number of kudos for the first chapter! It's all because of GoAwayOlivia, right? ;)

That night, Jason dreams of snow.   
  
_It blows around him, wild and untamed. He stands in the midst of a vortex, buffeted by the winds, and yet, he feels no cold against his bare skin. Because bare it is, his boxers lost somewhere in the transition between sleep and awake. Where is he?_

_Darkness permeates the world around him, what little of it he can make out. There is nothing but snow._

_In the back of his mind, he knows he should feel nervous. Afraid even. But he’s not. If anything, he feels like he’s being welcomed. On a whim, Jason spreads his arms wide, embracing the wind and snow._

_Around his waist, he swears he feels something return the gesture, instantly reminding him of Tim._  
  
_Suddenly, the winds disappear and the snow settles, gently falling to the ground and revealing a gray twilight illuminated by the full moon in the black sky above. Moonlight. Sky. Snow. Jason is utterly alone in this barren white landscape, but he knows he’s not. Not in the slightest.  
  
“She is coming for you,” a voice speaks, echoing from far away. “Her hunters are many and know your scent. They took it from me.” _  
  
_Jason startles and whirls around, trying to find the speaker. Snow crunches loudly under his bare feet. How the hell is he not feeling the cold? “Who’s coming for me? Who are you?” he shouts._

 _A spot on his shoulder flares with icy cold as the dragon comes to life._  
  
_“Tim?” Jason asks, hoping against hope that he’s right. “Tim, is that you?”_

_“Yes. I am so sorry.”_

_“Sorry for what? Where are you? What’s going on?”_  
  
_“I never should have fallen for such an obvious trap. She has me in the Tower of Moonlight and Shadow, a prisoner of her dark court. Forgive me, Hood. She is coming for you because of me – because of my gift to you.” Tim’s voice sounds sad and forlorn, lacking that spark of sass and cockiness Jason will admit only to himself that he kinda loves._  
  
_“The dragon? Who’s after me, Tim?” he calls out. Beneath his skin, his gift races in clear agitation, leaving ice cold trails across his skin. “What happened to you?”_  
  
_“The Queen of Night...” Tim trails off before he picks up again, weaker than before. “Beware the shadows. Return to the stars and forget me. I’m sorry...”_

Jason wakes with a jolt as the dreamscape shatters around him, grasping for the threads of his dream before they disappear entirely. No, that hadn’t been a dream. It was a message from Tim. 

What the fuck is going on? The shadows… 

His room is dark, but not overly so. As much as he hates to admit it, he can’t sleep with all the lights out. Here at the manor, the bedroom he’s claimed for his own has been modernized with recessed lighting, which he leaves on whenever he’s forced to stay. He doesn’t question it, but he recognizes Alfred’s touch when he sees it. 

Tim’s warning about the shadows bring back memories of the little goblin creatures from before. The back of his thigh still stings from where their claws and teeth tore through his uniform. But the warning prickle signaling that he’s being watched isn’t there. For now, his room is just that. A spare bedroom. 

What else happened in his dream? Jason frowns as he tries to remember. Something about the Queen of Night, but the rest has slipped away. That name can’t be more ominous if it tried and he’s certain those shadow goblins are connected to her, whoever the fuck she is. It has to be important if Tim is trying to warn him. 

Well, shit. Jason glances at the clock on the nightstand. It’s a little after six in the morning, so that means he actually got a decent amount of sleep, all things considered. Pain pills will do that. There’s no way he’ll be able to get more, so he rises and heads into the bathroom to clean up. 

This early, perhaps he can get started on some breakfast and take a load off Alfred’s shoulders. 

~*~*~ 

In the kitchen, he finds Cass sitting quietly at the counter, a glass of orange juice in hand. 

Great. Just wonderful. The last thing he needs right now is razzing from his other sister. 

Jason starts the tea kettle and waits for it. She has to have heard the story from Steph by now. The two of them are thick as thieves. 

“How is your ass?” Cass finally asks, breaking the silence. 

“It’s my thigh,” Jason bites back tightly. He knows she’s watching him, weighing him. Not judging though. That’s one thing Cass doesn’t do. 

“The way you are holding yourself, it’s your butt.” 

“Why does everyone have a fascination with my ass all of a sudden, huh?” Jason slams open one of the cupboards to remove a tin of the good English Breakfast tea Alfred keeps there, the kind he should probably be asking for permission to use. Fuck that. He’s making breakfast and then he’s gone. Bruce can stand to lose a car, even if it means he has to come back here in a week or two for his motorcycle.

“Because we are concerned about you.” Cass’s hand lands lightly on his shoulder and squeezes gently. He hadn’t even heard her move. “Stephanie and Dick told me about Tim.” 

“Yeah? What else did they tell you?” 

“They didn’t tell me that you’re in love with him. Or at least, that you care very deeply for him.” 

Jason slams the tin against the counter, fingers pressing hard into the cold aluminum. “I’m not. I can’t be. It was _two fucking nights_.” 

Two of the best nights of his life. 

“You care, then.” Cass rests her chin against his shoulder and hugs him. “I’m of the opinion that this Tim person must care too if he left you a piece of himself.” 

Well, shit. For once, he has an ally that’s not just Alfred. Suck on that, Bruce. Jason glances down at his sister and she gives him one of her small, sweet smiles, but he doesn’t want to go down without a fight. “You get hit in the head last night or something?” 

The smile morphs into a smirk and Cass smacks him, hard. “No, but you got bit in the ass.” 

“They were claws, fuck you very much, and they hurt.” Jason carefully pours some of the loose tea into the tea strainer and sets it aside to put the tin away. 

“Steph told me about their teeth, so maybe it was a bite.” Cass dances away before he can catch hold of her, not that he stands a chance if she doesn’t want him to. 

The tea kettle whistles.

“Saved by the bell.” He makes a face at her that may involve sticking out his tongue like a ten-year-old boy. Tea steeping, he turns his attention onto his true mission down here. Breakfast. “I’m taking over the kitchen this morning. Want anything?” 

This was a rhetorical question because Cass’s appetite is second to none. Where she keeps it all is a mystery even Bruce can’t solve. 

“Belgian waffles,” she announces after a moment. “Those are the big, fluffy ones, right?” 

“Yeah.” Jason rummages through the fridge for the eggs, milk, and butter, then heads to the pantry for the dry ingredients, trying to decide if he wants to make the yeasted version or not. Waiting for dough to rise is a bitch, even if the wait is worth it. 

Opening the door and flipping on the light, he stops short and stares. “What the ever-loving fuck?” 

The pantry looks like a tornado blew through it. Half-chewed cereal boxes litter the ground, with their contents scattered to the far corners of the narrow room. Bags of flour and sugar are ripped open, creating a white dusting over every possible surface. Glass jars are broken and pickles, jam, and other currently unidentifiable things are smeared all over the floor and walls. Ironically enough (or perhaps not, his subconscious whispers), anything canned has been left alone. 

This will take hours to clean. 

While his first instinct is to blame Titus and Alfred the cat, he knows there’s no way the two of them could have done this. He’d walked upstairs with Damian last night, the cat in his little brother’s arms and the dog following after them. 

So what the hell did? 

Beside him, he hears the sharp intake of Cass’s breath. “What happened?” 

Then, on his other side, Alfred speaks up, having made his way into his domain only to find it in ruins. “My word. What on earth…?” 

He doesn’t want to say it, he really doesn’t, but if there’s one person in this world he refuses to lie to, it’s the old man standing next to him. Lying to Cass is utterly impossible, but that doesn’t stop him from trying. 

“I think the shadow gremlins may have followed me here last night,” Jason states flatly. 

There. That wasn’t so hard. 

Alfred’s normally calm exterior hardens. It’s quite the sight and Jason is glad that steely glint in his eye isn’t directed at him. “Did they now?” he asks. “Well then, I suppose we should break out the salt.” 

~*~*~

Breakfast is a somber affair, although Jason is convinced part of it is because everyone is still half asleep. Anything before nine after a long night out on patrol is too early. 

Bruce sits silently at the head of the table, coffee in one hand and Alfred’s tablet in the other. The mess in the pantry stares back at him, dozens of pictures they’d taken to preserve the scene. He’s visibly upset that Jason and Cass started cleaning before he had a chance to inspect it, but they didn’t have much of a choice once some spilled vinegar found a chewed up box of baking soda. 

Jason sits in silence, eating the omelet Alfred ended up making while he and Cass were busy. The accusations will undoubtedly erupt from Bruce very soon once he has a chance to process everything. He’s torn between wanting to stay to help finish cleaning the pantry and getting the hell out of here. The dream from Tim still lingers in his mind, along with his warning about the shadows and the Queen of Night. 

Did the shadow gremlins do this? They must have. Somehow, they tracked him here, which is all the more reason for him to leave. 

“Has anyone gone down to the cave to check the security feed?” Dick asks, setting down his cup of coffee. 

Jason looks up from his plate. “Seriously? There’s a camera in the pantry?” 

“Every room in this place has a camera, even if it’s just a passive feed that’s motion activated.” 

Wordlessly, Bruce shoves away from the table, coffee and tablet still in hand as he leaves the room. Alfred follows, presumably to baby-sit. 

The monkey hanging on everyone’s back is lifted as soon as he’s gone, chatter and questions flung about by Damian and Stephanie. Jason refuses to speak, completely and utterly not in the mood to deal with any of them. Tim’s warning about the shadows grows, taking over his thoughts. Who is the Queen of Night? Why is she after him, a mere human who had a pretty fucking awesome dalliance with a faerie? It’s not like he has any claim on Tim, he’s just got… 

Jason feels the little dragon stirring on his shoulder. 

He’s got a piece of Tim. And perhaps, just maybe, it’s a piece that Tim shouldn’t have given him in the first place. That this mark really isn’t something that should be shared with humans. Is it the cause of all this? Is the dragon acting as a beacon for other fae to come and test him, just like Tim did himself? 

Fuck that. Tim found him worthy, but maybe there’s more to it. Jason got the distinct impression that his lover is more powerful than he’d let on. He held off a fucking winter storm just so he could go for a ride on a motorcycle and later on get taken for a different kind of ride on it. It’s possible he’s reading too much into this because damn, that sex was some of the best he’s ever had, but his gut tells him that he’s on the right track. 

What kind of Unseelie Fae is Tim? What kind of retribution will he face for leaving his court and is this part of it? 

Jason’s ass stings as he shifts in his chair, reminding him of just how real those shadows were the night before. 

“Perhaps if Brown and Todd hadn’t retreated in Robinson Park, we’d have more information,” Damian remarks, bringing Jason’s attention back to the conversation around him. The kid is giving Stephanie a challenging look, baiting her. 

Stephanie takes it and runs with it. “Oh no, you don’t. You didn’t see their teeth! And the claws! They would have shredded us if we’d stayed. They got Jay’s ass, but can you imagine the tragedy if something had happened to mine? It’s a piece of art, you know. I’ve got to protect it so it can be treasured by the masses.” 

The childlike look of disgust from Damian makes Stephanie grin and Cass smirk.

Dick is more focused on the issue at hand than the bickering. “Why now?” he asks, his steady gaze on Jason before switching back to his other siblings. “What’s changed?” 

It’s Damian of all people who answers, impatiently rolling his eyes. “Todd has been in space for almost three months. Logically speaking, he’s simply been out of range. Now that he’s returned, he’s fair game for whatever these shadows are after.” 

“But _why_ are they after him?” Stephanie asks. “I sincerely doubt he’s so good a lay that some other fae wants him for a booty-call. Dick, maybe. He gets around.” 

“Hey!” Dick protests, but Jason tunes them out again as the rest of his dream comes roaring back. 

Tim wasn’t just warning him about the shadows. He has a Fae Queen after his ass. Why would she… 

The little silver dragon starts moving under his skin, emerging from his sleeve onto the back of his hand. Icy blue eyes stare up at him, waiting. 

It suddenly clicks. “The Queen of Night isn’t after me. She’s after you.” 

All eyes are on Jason as he raises his arm. 

“What do you mean, Jay?” Dick asks, leaning in to get a better look at the dragon. “Who’s the Queen of Night?” 

“I had a dream last night.” Jason tells them about it, down to every last detail. “I think this Queen has somehow captured Tim and is sending these shadows after me to reclaim this guy.” 

“Your fae didn’t say that at all,” Damian points out. 

Jason shakes his head. “Dames, I’ve got a really damned good idea of how powerful Tim is. No one can hold him against his will, not unless he’s been weakened somehow. And that’s what he said he was. A prisoner in the Tower of Moonlight and Shadow.” 

“This is starting to sound like a fantasy novel come to life,” Stephanie states. 

Beside him, Cass pats his arm. “If Tim is captured, then you must rescue him.” 

Stephanie shakes her head. “I can’t believe that in this scenario, Tim is the princess and you’re the knight in shining armor. I totally woulda pegged it the other way. She’s right though. You gotta mount a rescue, Prince Charming.” 

Jason scoffs and yanks his arm away. “And just how the fucking hell do you think I’m gonna do that? He’s in _Fae_.” 

“Don’t be stubborn,” Dick says. “You’ve got a guide. Right there.” He points to the dragon circling Jason’s wrist. 

“Shit.” 

~*~*~ 

They’re in the midst of a debate about whether Jason should go back to New Mexico or just try wandering around Robinson Park to find the entry that leads him back into the Borderlands when Bruce texts him, telling him to come down to the cave. 

He glares at his phone and pointedly finishes his now cold omelet and tea before getting up. “I’m being summoned.” 

“And you’re listening?” Stephanie points out, rising as well. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Jason asks. 

“Coming with, obviously. You and Bruce going at it are better than any fireworks display. The way I see it, today’s entertainment is just getting started.” 

Jason frowns as the others push away from the table too. “What am I? Some kind of freakshow?” 

“You’re never here, little wing,” Dick says, opening the dining room door for everyone. “Besides, if we’re with you, Bruce won’t go completely postal.” 

“Nice try. Tell me another one.” 

Down in the cave, Bruce frowns harder when he sees all of his children trailing along with Jason, but wisely doesn’t comment on it. On the large monitor behind him is the recording from what appears to be the pantry. 

There’s something moving. Something dark. 

Steph is the first to speak up. “That looks exactly like the creepy gremlins we saw at the park last night.” 

Jason nods in agreement, eyes glued to the screen as he watches a bag of flour explode under the force of razor sharp nails. The night-vision camera catches the very shadows themselves coming to life, luminous eyes and needle-like teeth appearing out of nowhere to utterly destroy the pantry. He doesn’t question why the camera manages to capture just as good a recording as the rest of their equipment is capable of. This is Bruce Wayne paranoia, at its best. 

“What’s the timestamp?” Dick asks, eyes glued to the screen as it loops back to the beginning. 

“The sensor activated at 6:04 am,” Bruce replies, his heavy gaze on Jason. “It’s five minutes long.” 

Jason doesn’t miss the implication, even if none of the others are able to pick up on it yet. He woke up from his dream right around that time. 

They all watch in silence as the pantry is utterly demolished. When it’s over, Bruce pauses the recording. “These creatures are here because of that mark, Jason. You need to get rid of it.” 

Like hell. “That’s not happening,” he replies. “This little guy has a job to do.” 

“What’s that?” 

“Lead me into Fae so I can rescue Tim.” 

Bruce blinks, clearly not expecting that. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

Jason hesitates, not sure if he wants to share the details of his dream with the one man who will completely and utterly rip it to shreds. Bruce thrives on logic and science, deductive reasoning and the scientific method. A dream vision isn’t the way to explain why he’s planning to swan off into a completely different dimension that runs parallel to their own. 

Luckily for him, he doesn’t have to. This is why he has siblings. 

Dick and Steph rush to fill in the silence when Jason doesn’t, telling Bruce what he told them over breakfast about the dream. All the while, Cass and Damian look on in amusement as Bruce grows more and more apoplectic. 

 _“You’re basing this all on a dream?”_ he roars, hands clenched into fists as he tries to contain himself. 

“No, I’m also using the evidence that there are shadows who now want to eat me,” Jason snaps right back. “Or did you miss that part?” 

“You are not going on some dream quest after an Unseelie Fae! Do you even realize how ridiculous that sounds?” 

Okay, Jason can concede that point to Bruce, but he’ll be damned if he admits it. “I don’t expect you to help me, Bruce. I never expect anything from you besides a fucking migraine.”

Bruce becomes absolutely still as his walls slam shut, a move all of them recognize as him closing himself off from whatever might cause him to have an actual emotion.

Even Alfred winces, a sign he may have gone too far. “I think I shall go back upstairs and clear up breakfast,” he says, bobbing his head as he makes his retreat. 

Wise man. Things are about to get messy. Jason needs to get out of here, head to a place where he can fucking breathe and get his thoughts together. This place is not conducive to a clear mind. 

“Jay, he’s got a point.” Dick lays a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “We do need more evidence that this isn’t something malevolent.”

“I’m not fucking possessed,” Jason retorts, shrugging off the hand.

“That’s what all possessed people say,” Damian comments, rather unhelpfully. 

“Weren’t you just the one who said that it’s because I was in outer space that these things couldn’t come after me?” 

“Yes, but that also means you were out of range of your fae to influence you through his mark too.” Damian shrugs. “His dragon is a work of art, even if his taste in lovers leaves something to be desired.” 

Stephanie snorts, not even trying to hide her laughter. “He’s got you there.” 

Go fucking figure that the demon brat is playing both sides of the fence and sucking up to daddy. “Don’t you have school?” 

“I’m playing hooky. This is far more interesting than listening to the utter drivel that passes for an education on this side of the Atlantic.” 

Strong arms grab hold of Jason, taking advantage of his distraction. Instantly, he struggles, trying to fight off both Dick and Bruce. Between the two of them, he’s got a real fight on his hands, one that he’s not afraid to play dirty if it means it’ll get him out of here. 

“Seriously, this is why I never come here for help! You’re all assholes!” 

“We’re doing this for your own good.” Bruce grunts as Jason headbutts him, hard enough to hear something _crunch_. 

He hopes he broke his nose. 

“Come on, Jay,” Dick says, avoiding an elbow to the face since Jason isn’t fighting fair. “We just want to help. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re crazy.” 

Jason manages to kick Bruce hard in the leg and wishes he was wearing something other than a thick pair of socks because then he could really make it _hurt_. “You fucking hypocrite. I can think of plenty of times you said I was. To my face.” 

“Pit rage,” Cass comments, moving into Jason’s line of sight. “Which is true, you know this.” 

“I take back every nice thing I ever said about you,” he snaps. This fucking sucks. If it’s just Bruce and Dick, he has a minute chance of winning. Add Cass to the equation and that goes down to zero. Negative zero. Sub-Arctic even. 

“I do not think you are possessed,” she states. “But I do think the shadows are waiting to take advantage of us while we are distracted.” 

“Huh?” Stephanie whirls around, looking away from the show and into what’s now a _very_ dark cave. 

The only light comes from the massive bank of computer monitors, every other bulb in the place having gone out. Jason remembers the popping sound from last night and winces, realizing just how close they had come to an attack in what is supposed to be one of the most secure places on the damned planet. 

Well, secure if you’re human. 

Dick and Bruce let him go and the others flank around them, wordlessly going into a formation with Jason in the center. 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He does not need to be treated like a goddamned damsel in distress. 

“See, in this scenario, you _are_ the pretty princess,” Stephanie says, to which Dick and Cass both snicker. “These things are not getting you.” 

“You said they’re weak against light?” Bruce asks, eyes darting toward his workbench where there’s probably some bat-gadget that will fix everything. Jason will speak all the shit he wants about his dad, but he can’t say he’s ever unprepared. 

“Weak? Not sure,” Jason states. “They don’t like it though. Light means no darkness for them to hide.” 

“Flashbangs won’t work.” Damian already has his knives out, the little ninja. “Unless we want to take ourselves out of the equation.” 

“Yeah, let’s not do that.” Dick circles around behind Jason, not that it does any good. The floor is already writhing as the shadow gremlins appear, teeth flashing and their eyes a luminous green that reminds Jason uncomfortably of the Pit. 

“How are we playing this, B?” Steph asks, armed with a batarang she must have grabbed from under the computer console. They’re cached everywhere. 

Jason tunes out Bruce as he starts barking orders. It’s not going to work. Not against those things. Cold iron is the only sure fire bet against the fae, not a polycarbon alloy that never loses its own razor sharp edge. The last time he checked, the only solid iron in here is in the garage. 

For the first time since he came back into his right mind, Jason wishes for a crowbar. 

As he watches the shadow creatures writhe across the floor, hissing and snapping when they get too close to the light, he comes to a realization, one that really isn’t all that surprising considering the family he’s a part of. Unless someone solar powered with the ability to create light suddenly bursts in here, they’re screwed. There’s probably a few metas or aliens on that list, but the only one Jason has on speed dial happens to be on a phone he left upstairs.

So. He does the next best thing. 

“They’re not here for any of you guys,” he says, shoving his way between Steph and Damian. “We all know they’re after me.” 

“Don’t even _think_ about it, Todd,” Damian snaps, pushing back against him and failing as Jason forces his way through. “We defend our own.” 

“Oh, so that means I’m your brother today?” Jason can’t help but tease, even as Stephanie elbows him hard in the side. He winces. Those things should be classified a lethal weapon. 

“Shut up, Jason. You’ve always been our brother, even when you’re being a dick.”

“That’s the problem with you guys,” he comments as he shoves the shirtsleeve up his arm. “You think about family too much.” 

“You are family,” Bruce replies firmly. “As much as you like to deny it, that doesn’t make it any less true.” 

Jason rolls his eyes, even if the sentiment wraps itself around his heart and refuses to let go. “Thanks, _Dad._ But if that’s all true, then you know why I’m doing this.” 

He steps forward and raises his arm, willing the little dragon still wrapped around his wrist to do something. Anything. As much as he’d like to be dragged to Fae on his own terms, preferably armed to the teeth with an iron crucifix or two and a shotgun with a shit ton of modified buckshot, this will do. And his boots. Definitely gonna need the right footwear for when he kicks the Queen of Night in the face. 

The shadows swirl around his feet, piling on top of each other, growing until they form a single monster of immense proportions that reaches nearly to the stalactites above. The bulbous head bears down on him, it’s maw open wide when the dragon finally reacts. 

It’s not quite what Jason expects, but holy hell is it effective. 

The dragon roars to life, literally, as it rises out of Jason’s skin and flies around him, growing each time he completes a circle. Ice and snow fall from his wings, erecting a shimmering barrier that the shadow monster reels away from, hissing in clear surprise. 

 _“You bear the mark of the Lord of Winter.”_ The voice comes from everywhere, echoing in the cave. _“He has chosen you.”_  

“No shit, Sherlock!” Jason tries for bravado and mostly succeeds, even though he’s got no fucking clue what that whole _chosen_ thing means. “We gonna get going or what? If you can spare a few minutes, I’d like to pack a few things.” 

It’s worth a shot. Behind him, Dick groans. 

The shadowbeast shakes its head. _“You bear the mark of his favor. Our Queen must know of this.”_  

With those cryptic words, the beast disintegrates, falling to pieces before his eyes. The utter darkness retreats and the heavy atmosphere disappears. In moments, the cave returns to its normal state, damp and cool and annoyingly filled with members of his overly concerned family. 

The dragon stops before Jason’s eyes, hovering on lightly beating wings. 

“Thanks?” he says, unsure if he should be thanking the thing for blowing their one chance to get to Fae and save Tim or cursing him. 

The dragon opens its mouth and a burst of icy cold wind hits Jason square in the face. Instantly, he’s reminded of Tim and can easily imagine that it’s his caress that he feels, that it’s his cold body cuddling close seeking his warmth. 

 _“You are a fool if you want to come for me.”_ Tim’s voice echoes throughout the cave, lingering as the dragon flies around once more before settling back onto Jason’s still upraised arm, talons clutching his wrist so tight that they pierce the skin.

He ignores the thin trickle of blood that makes its way down his arm. “And you’re a moron if you think I won’t. Show me the way, Tim. I’ll level that damned tower if I have to. Got plenty of things here to make it go _boom_.” 

Tim’s quiet laugh almost brings tears to Jason’s eyes. Christ, has he missed him. _“The shadowlings will return for you soon. They’re confused, upset that their Queen isn’t the one who bears my mark. Be prepared, Hood. The battle will not be easy.”_  

“The good fights never are.” 

Another breath of icy air brushes his mouth and this time, Jason can feel Tim’s lips upon his own. _“My meddling human. You are a stubborn one.”_  

“You wouldn’t have me any other way.” 

The dragon flaps its wings one last time before disappearing back into Jason’s body, circling his wrist before darting up his arm and settling onto his shoulder. 

Jason cups his hand over it, the closest thing he can do to return Tim’s embrace. His body aches as it remembers the feel of Tim in his arms. Fuck, who is he trying to kid? He’s fallen for a fucking Fae. Hook, line, and sinker. For shits and giggles, he runs through one of those mental exercises Bruce taught him so long ago, not expecting a damned thing to change and he’s right, nothing does 

Stephanie sidles up next to him and rests an arm over Jason’s other shoulder. “So, that was Tim, huh?” 

“Yeah, it was.” 

“It’s nice to see he thinks you’re an idiot too.” 

“Fuck you.”


End file.
